Ally McCoist was bemused that West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini opted to compare midfielder Jack Wilshere with Andrea Pirlo.
The Hammers boss was asked about the 26-year-old’s ability to play as a holding midfielder and the 64-year-old responded by comparing Wilshere to the iconic Italian midfielder.
“If you need fast players they cannot do it,” Pellegrini said, as quoted by The Telegraph.
“But if you need good technical players that do not lose any balls, then they can play together.
“A lot of you will remember Juventus around four or five years ago, they played with one holding midfielder, it was Pirlo, and Pirlo is the same as Jack, he has the same characteristics as Jack.”
Upon hearing the Hammers manager’s quotes, McCoist questioned Pellegrini’s decision to compare Wilshere with such a world-class player and shared it was the last thing the former Arsenal man needed.
“I know, listen I know exactly what he is trying to do right, obviously clearly trying to give Jack a boost, no doubt about it,” said the 55-year-old on talkSPORT (Friday August 24, 7:11).
“Effectively Jack needs that comparison like a hole in the head, you know he’s trying to give a player a boost, we want to see the best from you. Try and get behind you, a vote of confidence if you like.
“I don’t think that comparison would have done Jack any favours.”
OPINION
It’s easy to see that McCoist is spot-on with comments about Pellegrini’s decision to publicly compare Wilshere to Pirlo. The veteran manager clearly just wanted to give the 5ft 6in midfielder (Transfermarkt) a boost however the media will now run wild with this comparison and it will see the pressure increase on Wilshere to deliver. The central midfielder already has enough pressure on him to succeed at the London Stadium as it is, so Pellegrini perhaps shouldn’t have made remarks of that nature. Wilshere is aiming to prove all his doubters wrong with the Hammers this season as there were several people who were sceptical about Pellegrini’s side recruiting him upon his Arsenal contract expiring in the summer due to his injury record. The 26-year-old may have managed to make 38 appearances last season across all competitions for the Gunners but his poor injury record from seasons gone by still imply that there was a risk to signing him.